Solstice Run 2010 – Running without the horses…

Posted on July 2, 2010May 3, 2022 by GeorgeK

The second annual (for me) Solstice Run in Northville Michigan has come and gone.
The Northville Solstice Run has several races, 5K, 10K, and new in 2010 a 10 Mile race. They all feature a starting lap around the Northville Downs horse race track. Giddy Up!

Photos were taken of the event by the faithful support team.

The official results for the race. Not what I would have hoped, or even expected, off from last year by several minutes. (2009 was 57:57)

You can see the full details on the running stats web page.(Index)

or this specific race.

There are trotters, pacers, thoroughbreds, quarter horses, plow horses and nags.
Guess it was the day for the plow horses….,

George

2010 Disney Marathon January 10, 2010 Orlando Florida – wait – I was in Florida?

Posted on January 16, 2010May 3, 2022 by GeorgeK

Almost a year ago I signed up for the 2010 Disney Marathon. Since it normally sells out early I wanted to make sure I got in this year. It sure is hard to predict what is going to happen that far in the future! Who would have thought that on this weekend in Orlando Florida it would in the upper 20 degree Fahrenheit with icy cold winds and even some sleet thrown in! What a race weekend. I had packed for cool temperatures. I had old “throw-a-way” sweats so I could keep warm and then discard. I had gloves, even made some disposable arm warmers our of old – I mean old – athletic socks, the almost to the knee type, quite bulky they were again with the idea they would be tossed along the course when it warmed up.
Mickey is one cool dude, ready to roll in the marathon.

What I didn’t pack was running tights, but I did not expect it to be “that” cold. Lesson learned… for the space they would have taken up it would have made it much more comfortable. The race start is at 5:40 am, so it is an early morning! Up at 3 to start dressing, taping sensitive areas, anti-chaffing lube, etc. I had brought oat meal (instant) to have since I figured there would not be any place to get something at that hour, but what I did not count on was there was no microwave, or even coffee pot in the room. I travel often for work and have found it easy to make oatmeal using the instant coffee makers so that was my plan. Without one though I did the best I could…. ran the tap water until it was as hot as it was going to get, then mixed it up using that…. it was edible and served to get me something in the stomach is the best I can say for that.

We headed off about 4 am to catch the shuttle bus from the hotel (Disney Pop Century resort) to the venue. As we were sitting and relaxing we could see people driving in sitting in miles of traffic backed up. This was one of the reasons I elected to stay on Disney property. The hotel was not that great, but the shuttle service to different activities is great, plus it saves a minimum of $14 parking every trip. Plus you get dropped off a lot closer to the gate/activity than if you parked since that normally requires an additional tram ride from the parking to the gate.

Still had to walk a couple of blocks to the main area… then got “lost” could not find the start area, and even asking several people could not find it… they said they were looking also…. Finally found a person that said you have to go through the gear drop off tents, come out the other side, then walk another half mile (at least) to the start area. Whew… was starting to wonder what was going on. People there were doing everything they could to keep warm. I saw hotel towels wrapped around heads, blankets turned into serapes, garbage bags, quilts, space blankets (people who ran Saturday) and many other methods to keep warm. NO one actually looked warm though.

Finally could hear the announcer, then fire works went off followed by a roar from the crowd and we were off. I only was about 2 minutes from the start line while I understand others may have been an hour or more (?) before they got to the start line. The race itself went pretty good…up to a point. I was right on my plan, ticking off about 10:30 miles consistently. Heart rate never went up, breathing stayed pretty good, not labored or struggling at all. Stopped a couple of times for some photos to be taken with characters along the route, and a few shots of the park, hot air balloon and other things. (Check the photo album for all these.) Saw Paul several times along the course. He was following the suggested viewing points map and hustling from one place to another. We did see each other at the start, then missed at the four mile mark…. odd since it was the exact same place since it was a loop! Then again at 9 and 12 miles which was the final until the finish. Ran through the castle and got in line to have my picture taken in front of it… unfortunately I still had the old sweatshirt on. While I was in line I was struggling to get it off so my bib number would show so I could find the picture later. I was hopelessly trapped in the damn thing! Finally I got it over my head and off one arm, but it got hung up on the Garmin and it was my turn to go for a picture. I am sure when they are ready I will find myself with a big smile and a bigger sweatshirt ball around my left hand! Oh well.

After the picture I did get it off and dumped in by a trash can. I had been sweating up a storm in it so was happy to have it off…. for about two minutes, then the sweat started to cool off and I got pretty cold again. It didn’t help that at the same time we headed out of the park and onto the road, and in shade. Kept plodding along until about mile 23, then as they say “The wheels fell off”… big time. My HR still good, calves, thighs and hamstrings seemed to be fine, no breathing issues but my hips went completely to hell and back… well not back I guess. The next three miles were pretty miserable, and the pace dropped off to the 15 minute range. I was on pace for under five hours up to mile 23, then with those times there was no way that was gonna happen. I was pretty happy when the finish line came into sight! Managed to get the legs moving for the last several hundred yards and made it across the line. Got my reflective blanket which felt really good, my medal which looked really nice, and some food. Found Paul and we got pictures with Chip and Dale and then I was ready to head to the hotel and a warm shower, which is what we did.

So ends my first marathon. At 5:13 time I was hoping for sub 5 hour, but this only means the next one will be easy to PR in…. just when that will be is still undecided, so stay tuned.

The official bib has your name on it. This allows the spectators along the course to heckle cheer you on!

A blanket at the end feels pretty good! As you start cooling down the sweat makes things a little nippy. Temps are still in the low 30’s at this time.

Picture that opens when you click above: At this point I think I am actually going to make it, although if you could see a video of me right now you might swear I am really going backwards….

The final stats for the race, certainly not what I thought going in, but still not that big a disaster for my first marathon.

The course winds through the parks for 26.2 miles.

…. and Mickey heads off to somewhere, to do something….

They give out one of the better medals… oohhh…. shiny…..

At the end we got some pictures taken with the Disney characters. They are in hurry to get everyone through, so didn’t get the perfect picture, but it was still fun.

You can see the full details on the running stats web page.(Index)

or this specific race.

Until Mickeys ears freeze and fall to the ground by the iguanas,
George

Creating a Custom POI file for Garmin GPS

Posted on January 1, 2010May 7, 2022 by GeorgeK

I travel quite a bit for work, and find using a GPS to get me to all the different places I need to go is almost a necessity. There are also vacations with many places that we have never been to before. The days of carrying state maps in the glove compartment (Dating myself – but can you remember when you could get all the maps you wanted free at any gas station?) or an atlas in the trunk are over for me. Even the “high tech” method of using a mapping program to find a location, develop the route to the destination and then printing a map out are past their prime.

To get around to all these places with the least fuss I create different custom POI files for the Garmin Nuvi 755T that I received as a present. I would imagine the method I am going to detail on creating and uploading a custom POI file would apply to other models also.

First you need five things:

A Garmin GPS
Garmin POI loader software
A USB cable
ITN Converter software
An internet connection to download and use the ITN software.

First download the ITN software from https://benichougps.blogspot.com/
(Note: Clicking on any of the following pictures will enlarge (most of) them to allow you to see detail better.

You may do better if you convert the page to English, although it is not really necessary.

Click on the “Downloads” hyperlink.

Follow the prompts to install the software to your PC. Once done you will have an icon like the following on your desktop.

Once it is installed click on the icon to open the software. Then click on the “Editor” button in the lower right hand side.

It will launch the program and open a link which displays Google Maps in a pane along with the program.

Now the fun part starts! Where do you want to go?

Now the fun part starts! Where do you want to go? Type in a search string that gives you the results you want. (1) It can be an address or the name of a place. Here I wanted to find “Cobo Hall” in downtown Detroit Michigan since I was going to run a 10K “Turkey Trot” race there. Click the “Search Icon” (2). Now you have to pick the best match for where you want to go. I like to turn on the satellite view, (4) and zoom in so I can see the object fairly well. (5)

It may take a littel sleuthing to make sure you have the correct location. You can use the address that comes up and Google it to verify the address is the place you want. I often go to the Google Maps page and search there since it gives more detail on the place located. Once you are sure you have the correct location showing you can edit the name. (6) This name will later show in your GPS so you want it short and meaningful to you. Once you edit the name click on “OK”, then remember to click on “Add to itinerary” to save it to your list. (8)

TIP: You can click on the map to add a “pin” for the exact location you want.

TIP: You can click on the map to add a “pin” for the exact location you want. I like to do this so I can define a specific place I want to go such as a certain parking lot at a large park, or even the entrance or exit of a large building that I want to be closest to. Just add the pin then name it like above.

You should see it appear in your list of saved places (9)
In the file give your new file a name. (10) This name will later show in your GPS as the “Custom POI” file name. Again, you will want to give it a meaningful name.

TIP:Organize your files!

TIP: I start all my file names with a series of numbers like 01, 02, 03, etc. This is because later the GPS will order the custom POI files in your GPS in this same order. I like to put the most commonly used ones first in the list to avoid a little bit of scrolling. You can always change the numbers later to add a file or rearrange them if you like.

Repeat the above steps until you have as many waypoints as you want in your file. You can always come back and add more later if you want.
Once you have added all the points you want in this file, click on the X to close the editor.

Once you close the editor it will automatically add the new locations to the file page.

Now you are ready to save your file for later use. At the bottom of the window select “CVS” as a file type. (12) Then click on “Export”. (13)

When you click on export a file explorer opens, pick where you want to save your file, and the name you want it saved by. It will use the name you entered earlier by default but you can change it here if you like. Here I have added the “16” to the file name for later ordering of the files. Another tip is to use either the number of places contained in the file, or the date… or both as shown here. The number of entries in the file lets me know which “revision” it is if I edit the same file multiple times in a day.

That’s all there is to creating your first custom POI file! The ITN software makes this so easy to do I frequently go back in an add even one or two points to a given file. It’s easier than typing in an address in the GPS unit, and probably more accurate.

Now that you have a file what do you do with it? Come back in a week when I go through the details of how to best load the new custom POI’s into your unit.

Until the final POI is defined,
George

Detroit Turkey Trot 10K 2009

Posted on November 27, 2009May 7, 2022 by GeorgeK

The Detroit Turkey Trot for 2009 has come and gone. Although as of right now the results have gone into some digital never-never land. They were there, I got screen shots, went back to check on some other runners and now nothing is available. (Update about 8:30 pm they came back.)

I have to hand it to those people that are willing (and able to) run the entire race in these outfits

This is always a fun race to be part of. Many people come in costume, and there are awards for the best ones. In the photo album you will see some of them, but the photographer felt some of the best were not captured. I have to hand it to those people that are willing (and able to) run the entire race in these outfits, even if it is “only” the 5K. Some look very hot, others just physically difficult to actually run in.

“The Detroit Turkey Trot 10K 2009 Photo Album will be posted when it is complete!” It’s ready now!

This year we managed to avoid the hour long wait in line to get into a parking garage by bypassing all the cars waiting to get into Cobo Hall parking structure. Instead we went directly under Cobo coming out of the tunnel a couple blocks away and went straight to a garage by the Renaissance Center. While that was great, we were now quite early! We hiked over a couple blocks to Cobo Hall and hung out getting some coffee and using the bathroom and keeping warm. Oh, did I mention it was 36 degrees with about a 30 mile per hour wind. Brrr… I had checked the temperature before leaving home and thought I would be okay with a regular shirt and shorts along with arm warmers, gloves and a head band. If I had known about the wind I would have added tights to that list. Since I didn’t have them I ended up leaving the warm up pants on for the race. Ended up okay, legs did get a little warm, but maybe better than to cold and stiff.

The official bib number.

As last year the place was packed! With 14,000 people registered they ended up with 12420 finishers! A lot of people crowding into the same space, both indoors and on the course.

So… after the race was over, without a PR unfortunately, we found each other in the hoards of people in Cobo Hall basement… remembering this year to take cell I phones! (I even wore the SPI Belt to carry my cell phone for after the race!) We took our walk back to the parking garage, where being early had gotten a close parking place, and got into the car, started it up and pulled out into the aisle… where we sat for over fourty five minutes before we moved even one car length. Seems they opened the exit above us, and every car in the parking garage from the higher decks got through the one exit booth before our floor did. Finally after one hour and twenty minutes we were able to pay our money (which included an hour time @ $4.00 waiting to get out) and hit the road for home again. While I felt I ended up higher in the overall and age group standings the time was a couple of minutes off my best effort to date. Maybe the warm up pants slowed me down, or maybe I just have been doing to many “easy runs” and absolutely no speed work in months. The final stats from Active.com web site are below.

You can see the full details on the running stats web page.

h) had a great time – which is always the goal right?… Right!

Until the final gobbler is gobbled,

George

Big House Big Heart 2009

Posted on October 9, 2009May 3, 2022 by GeorgeK

The Big House Big Heart 5K – 2009 running “The Big House Big Heart photo album…. will be here some day” with a finish on the 50 yard line of the University of Michigan football stadium.
T

he Big House Big Heart Flyer.

The official bib number, and a picture of the course captured by the Garmin FR 305 during the race.

The age group results for the race…

… and the total stats.

You can see the full details on the running stats web page.

The course started just North of the University of Michigan stadium, winds through nearby neighborhoods, then returns to the campus and enters the tunnel to the football field. Once through the tunnel a half lap of the field is made coming back up to the 50 yard line to finish.

Until college football is extinct,
George

United States Air Force (Half) Marathon

Posted on September 22, 2009May 3, 2022 by GeorgeK

The United States Air Force in Dayton Ohio held the 13th annual Marathon weekend September 19, 2009.

This was the first time I ever ran the race. I debated for awhile whether to run in this race or the Fort For Fitness the following weekend. Dayton appeared to be a fairly flat course and I was unsure about the Fort4Fitness course. The other reason was they had pace teams for the half marathon that you could join. Since my goal was to try and get under two hours I elected to try Dayton and go with a pace team. Main reason I wanted under a two hour time was to try and get a better starting position in an upcoming race.

At the start I was pretty fresh, and ready to roll and hung with the 9:10 pace for about 4.5 miles, then I gave out. It was just a little to ambitious I guess.

It didn’t take to long to discover that I wasn’t ready to maintain this pace for the distance. Dropped down the pace a bit, but it was to late, the legs had already gone south. I kept hobbling on to the end, but not all that happy with the time. Out of the three half’s I have run this was the slowest.

Still, it was fun. A night at the top of the line Super 8 hotel only about two miles from the race. My photographer learned how to use the “continuous” mode on the camera so got a good series of the finish line, including the good shot with the finishing time showing.

They gave out a really nice finishers medal, some day going to have to do something with them other than toss them into the shoe box.

Some stats for the race:

a) 13.1 Miles
b) finished 2132 out of 3839 overall
c) finished 61 out of 114 in my age group.
d) finished 1347 out of 1930 men.
e) had a 10:26 pace, 2:16:29 total. (Definitely not a PR.)
f) You can see the full details on the running stats web page.
h) had a great time – which is always the goal right?… Right!

You can view all the photos if you are tired of watching the grass grow.

Until the Sky’s of blue are no more,

George